The Daily Manila Shimbun

 

Okayama Pref. Starts to Supply Temp Housing to Disaster Victims

July 16, 2018



Kurashiki, Okayama Pref.- The government of the western Japan prefecture of Okayama, which was hit hard by floods and mudslides from heavy rain this month, started on Sunday to supply apartments and other housing leased from the private sector to residents in the city of Kurashiki whose houses were severely damaged by the disaster.

A counter for consultations about such temporary housing was set up at an evacuation center in the city's Mabi district, where some 4,600 houses were hit by floods.

"My mother told me that she is scared and can no longer live in Mabi," Hideki Kawasaki, 53, from the city of Ibaraki in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, said after talking with staff at the consultation counter. He said he plans to look for a house for the mother, in her 70s, in the city's Mizushima district, where relatives live.

According to Kawasaki, floodwaters reached the second floor of the mother's house in Mabi.

The house of 31-year-old Mabi resident Eriko Morimoto, and her parents and two children was also inundated.

"We want to return to our house once it is repaired," Morimoto said. "Until then, I'll try to find a temporary house around Mabi, where we can live with our pet, in a location close to the school of my kids." Gas service is not available at the temporary house the family now lives in, according to Morimoto.

Eligible to move into in the private-sector temporary housing prepared by the prefectural government are people whose houses were fully damaged by the rain disaster in 18 Okayama municipalities, for which the application of a Japanese disaster relief law has been decided.

They are allowed to live in the housing for up to two years. Rents are paid by the prefecture, and common-area, maintenance and parking lot fees by residents.

In the Mabi district, one- or two-story houses that saw floodwaters reach a height of 1.8 meters or more are regarded as being fully damaged, making their residents qualify for the temporary housing program.

People hoping to move into the temporary housing are asked to contact real estate companies handling such properties and take necessary procedures, and then submit applications to the prefecture through municipal governments. Jiji Press